Birkat Ha-Gomel

Questions along these lines are best addressed more personally, so that a response can take specifics of a situation and a community into account. Our response is meant as a general discussion of the relevant issues.

There is no preference for the baby to be present for birkat ha-gomel.
There is a strong preference for it to be recited before a minyan. Many communities have had the custom of having a husband recite ha-gomel on his wife’s behalf to make the minyan logistics easier, and this may still be relied in as necessary.
However, it is more customary today for a new mother to recite ha-gomel herself in the presence of a minyan (whether at synagogue or another occasion, such as a berit milah) within thirty days of chilbirth.
We plan to address birkat ha-gomel in greater depth in future pieces on Deracheha.

See more Q&A here.